Ignition apparatus



March 15 1927. 0,861

s. ALs'oP IGNITION APPARATUS Filed March 4. 1920 Patented Mar. 15, 1927.

its, sir;

SAMUEL Anson, or new You're, at;

renrrroit APPABATITS.

j, Application rues am.

My invention relates particularly to apparatus of the type of my U, S. PatentiNo. 1,289,595., issued December '31, 1918.

The main object oi my present invention is to improve upon the construction of my former patent so as to increase the life and efliciency of the device and avoid accidents.

:Details of the improvements will be found to reside in the particular constructionv and arrangement of the contacts, in the method of supporting the device, the. method of holding the parts together, and the provision of ventilating means, of such a character as to prolong the life of the [apparatus and I avoid the possibility of explosion.

Figure 1 is a side view and partial longitudinal section of a deyicegembodying the improvements of my invention shown attached to a support Figj2is a front'vlew of the apparatus;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view on the i y I V body or. housing'lO of the device, so that plane of the line 3-3 of 1 showing the method of'holding the rotatable contact member in place; V I

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the i plane of the line 4- 1 of Fig. 1,-showing the ventilating screen and guard;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on the plane of the line 55 of Fig. '1 'show-' ing the contacts in the normal orstarting position Fig. 6 is .a sectional view showing the r0 tatable contact member turned to an angle of about 60.9 from the position "of Fig. [5 so as to produce a break in the ignition circuit;

' member turned 180 from the position of Fig. .5. so as to produce two breaks in the ignition circuit; and I Fig. 8 is a detail of a brush contact,

The main body ,orhousing of thedevice 1O .ispreferably formed of insulating materialfsuch .as porcelain, and provided with r a flange 11, whlch is secured to a support 12 b means ofone or more screwssuch as 13, 13. This support will usually be the 'dash ofthe car, so that the device will be located under thehood. Preferably a face plate 14: is provided of sheet metal, which is cupped,

as shown, so that its. outer face is spaced away from the. support 12. A yielding Washer 15 is preferably interposed between the flange 11 and the dash.

The binding screws such as 16 and 17, to which the circuit wires are connected, pass Fig. 7 is .asimilar view, showing the rotary 192p. Seria1 No. 363,272.

brush is reflexed, asat 20, and slotted, as at '20, to receive the binding screw 16. The

head 21 of the binding screw is preferably angular or rectangular in outline, so that it is held from rotation in a groove 22.

The rotarymember or plug 28 is also preferably of insulating material and constructed so as to receive one or more contact -mem-. hers 24-. These contactrmembers are pret- 'erably ofT shape and, with their shanks -25,

are ioosely mounted in slots 26 in the plug '23. Each contact may" conveniently be formed of two thiclmesses of thin'isheet 'metail stamped into the proper shape, a

shown.

' The plug 23 1s preterajbly'secured inthe it will not accidentally come out in hand'ling and so that its rotation is properly limited. This may be effected by providing a gro0ve27 in the plug and a pin 28 in houslng which projects into groove. 'ihis'pin may be sealed in the housing by sealing material 29, if desired. I

To rotate theplug and vary the position of the'contacts '24 I preferablyjprovide a handle or thumb piece 30 witha shank or spindle 31, adapted to fit in a longitudinal recess 32 in theplug. *This'shanlr is pref- 'era'bly angular in cross section, or flaton one'side, so that there can-be no independence .of rotation between the shank and the plug, although the handle and shank maybe withdrawn, if desired. An indicator or pointer 33 is carried by the handle 30 and adapted to travel over a scale or dial on the face plate '14, so as to indicate .to the operator the "angular position of the rotary contacts. I

I To prolong the life of the device it is desirable to provide ventilation so as to keep down the temperature and carry away the products resulting from the sparks produced at the gaps between the contacts. For this purpose I provide an air inlet 34 at the front end. and an air outlet 35 in the face platein back of the dash, so that the air can draw through the device from front to rear when in operation. To insure an unobstructed passage for the air I may provide a longitudinal groove either in the plug or housing,

such as 36, extendnig from front to rear, although, by making the plug 23 small enough in diameter with relation to the inside of the housing, suflicient air space may be pro vided. When boring the hole for the spindle or shank 31 in the dash 12 it should be made large enough to provide suflicient ventilation from the housing 10 through the dash into the space behind the face plate 14, so that there will be an air passage to the outlet 85. Where the device is mounted beneath the hood I find it desirable to provide a fine mesh screen 37 to prevent the sparks in the housing from igniting the gasoline fumes which are frequentlyv present under the hood. This screen also keeps out dirt and foreign particles. It may be held in place by a yielding Washer, such as 38.

The parts will be seen to be simple in construction, susceptible of quantity production and accurate assembly even by unskilled la.- bor, and so arranged that there is nothing to get out of order. By rotating the plug and contacts 24 a break in the ignition circuit may be created, so as to oppose a variable resistance to the passage of the'current, and thus store up energy in the coils so as to produce a powerful ignition spark and insure firing of the motoreven under conditions in which the spark plugs would normally be inoperative. By turning the plug and contacts to the position shown in Fig. 7 when leaving the car and pulling out the operating handle 30 and shank 31, the ignition may be locked?, that is, placed in condition so that the car cannot be started. To start the car it would then be necessary to insert the handle and rotate the plug back to the position of Fig. 5. As soon as the motor is started the plug is rotated anti-clockwise until the desired condition is reached. The device being mounted on the dash or instrument board directly in front of the operators seat, its handle is readily accessible for adjustment and the dial is visible at all times, so that the operator may see the conditionsexisting.

I claim:

1. In an ignition aparatus, a housing having an interior groove, a spring contact-brush having a refiexed slotted foot, a binding screw extending outside of said housing and having a head for holding said foot in place in said groove, and a rotatable contact mem ber co-operating With said brush Within said housing.

2. In an ignition apparatus, a housing, .a stationary contact therein, a rotatable plug in said housing having a transverse slot, and a thin sheet metal contact member loosely mountedin said slot for engaging said stationary contact. 7

'3. In an ignition apparatus, a housing, a stationary contact in said housing, .a rotatable plug within said housing having a transverse slot, .and a thin sheet metal contact member mounted in said slot and having a curved head and an extended shank.

4C. In an ignition apparatus, a housing, a springbrush contact mounted therein, a rotatable plug in said housing, and a T-shaped contact carried by said plug and having its head engaged and held in place by said brush contact and said housing.

5. I11 an ignition apparatus, a housing vhaving a groove, a brush contact having a slotted foot secured in said groove, a binding post extending throughsaid slot and having a head to hold said foot, a rotatable insulating plug in said housing, and a contact member carried by said plug and having a contact surface extending part-way around said plug.

6. In an ignition apparatus, a housing having interior grooves arranged opposite each other, brush contacts having feet mounted in said grooves and having their free ends extending transversely part way around the inside of the housing, and a plug rotatable in said housing and supported by direct contact therewith and having contact members with curved faces adapted to make and break contact with said brush contacts.

7. In an ignition apparatus, a housing, brush contacts secured therein and extending toward; each other on one side of the inner surface of the housing, circuit terminals connected to said brush contacts within the housing, and a rotatable insulating plug within said housing having contact members with exposed faces extending less than half way around said plug.

8. In an ignition .apparatus, an insulating housing, interior contacts carried thereby, a rotatable plug in said housing, contacts carried by said plug, said plug having a groove extending part-way around it, a pin carried by said housing and extending into said groove for holding said plug in said housing and limiting its rotative movement, and a thumb piece having a shank of noncircular crosssection extending Withinsaid plug to adjust said contacts.

SAMUEL ALSOP 

